The National Assembly has denied unilateral enactment of the amended Electoral Act. The

Federal Legislature asserted that all the provisions of 2026 Electoral Act were products of stakeholders’ consensus and not of legislative fiat, as being peddled among some opposition leaders.

The Senate Committee on Electoral Matters stated that the enactment of the new electoral regime was consistent with the global best practices, saying it was not introduced for any self-serving purpose.

The opposition parties, especially, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, had severally alleged that the National Assembly introduced Section 77(1-7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 to frustrate their efforts to defeat the ruling party in 2027.

They also frowned at Section 84(1-3) of the Electoral Act, which limited the procedure for the nomination of candidates by political parties for the various elective positions to either direct primaries or consensus.

The Senate leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, faulted the opposition parties, pointing that each provision of the Electoral Act is informed purely by stakeholders’ consensus and not by legislative fiat.

According to him, the Act is not a product of legislative fiat, but of consensus reached by all stakeholders, including civil society organizations and development partners, among others.

He further explained that the electoral regime was consistent with the global best practices not introduced for any self-service purpose, introducing key provisions that reinforced the culture of collective decision-making in party management.

He observed that the National Assembly has been criticised for introducing a provision that requires each political party to submit a digital register of its members to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, within a stipulated time under Section 77(1-3) of the Electoral Act.

Bamidele also explained the rationale behind limiting the procedure for the nomination of candidates by political parties for the various elective positions to direct primaries or consensus under Section 84(1-3) of the Electoral Act.